Wamsutta (c. 1634–1662), known to the New England colonists as Alexander, was the eldest son of Massasoit (meaning Great Leader) Ousa Mequin of the Pokanoket and the Wampanoag nation, and the brother of Metacomet (or Metacom).

Wamsutta was born circa 1634. He was the eldest son of Massasoit Ousa Mequin, leader of the Pokanoket, and he married Weetamoo.

Upon Massasoit's death, Wamsutta succeeded him as leader of the Pokanoket, assuming authority over tribes between the Charles River in Massachusetts and Narraganset Bay in Rhode Island, including those in eastern Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Wamsutta, whom the English called Alexander, agreed to uphold the peace established by his father. Due to a decline in the fur trade, he increased the power of the Pokanoket by selling land to colonists. However, rumours spread that he was conspiring with the Narragansetts to attack the English. In 1662, the Plymouth Court summoned Wamsutta for independently negotiating land sales and seized him. After being questioned, Wamsutta fell ill and died shortly after.

The cause of his death was disputed, and his brother Metacomet, who succeeded him as leader of the Pokanoket, suspected poisoning. Wamsutta's death was among the factors that eventually led to King Philip's War in 1675.^[1] Conflicting reports exist regarding his death.^[2] Some accounts allege that Governor Josiah Winslow poisoned or tortured Wamsutta, viewing him as a threat. This speculation is brought into question, however, by the fact that Winslow's father, Edward Winslow, and Governor William Bradford, both had peaceful relations with Wamsutta's father, Massasoit. James W. George examines this issue in the 2017 historical novel "My Father's Kingdom."^[3]

Metacomet (or Metacom), known as King Philip to the colonists and officials at Plymouth, signed an agreement with the English in 1662, vowing not to provoke or initiate war with other natives without cause, similar to Wamsutta and their father before him. The colonists, in return, agreed to advise and aid Philip. However, the alliance was uneasy, and hostilities between natives and colonists continued to escalate.

Wamsutta's name has been used for several businesses and places:

• In 1846, the Wamsutta Company's textile mill opened in New Bedford.
• In 1861, Henry H. Rogers and his partner Charles Ellis of Massachusetts named their venture near Oil City, Pennsylvania the Wamsutta Oil Refinery. Rogers later became a principal in John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil.
• USS Wamsutta was a United States Navy steamer in commission from 1863 to 1865.
• In 1866, the Wamsutta Club was founded in New Bedford as a club for affluent residents, many of whom had earned their wealth from the whaling and textile industries.
• From 1945 to 1975, Camp Wamsutta, a summer camp, operated in Charlton, Massachusetts.
• Since 1975, Wamsutta Estates has been a residential development in Charlton, Massachusetts.
• In 1997, Wamsutta Middle School was built in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
• Currently, Wamsutta is a brand name of textile products marketed by Springs Global.
• Wamsutta trail on Mount Washington, NH

• List of early settlers of Rhode Island

https://vc.bridgew.edu/bmas/64/

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here. (See ship namesake section)

Heath, Dwight B. “A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth: Mourt’s Relation”, A relation or journal of the English Plantation settled at Plymouth in New England, by certain English adventurers, both merchants and others. Edited from the original printing of 1622. p. 7.